Hungary suspends “systematic border control”

Budapest (MTI) – Hungary’s government is temporarily suspending implementation of the EU decree on “systematic border control”, an interior ministry state secretary told MTI on Tuesday.

The government decision was published in the official gazette Magyar Közlöny on Tuesday evening and it has entered into force.

Sections of the Hungarian border have become extremely congested due to stricter control, Károly Kontrát said, and waiting times are expected to multiply during the summer season. The government has therefore issued a decision to temporarily suspend systematic control. Border control will become more targeted, he said.

From the very start, the government had doubts as to the practicality of a systematic control of every EU or third country citizen crossing the borders of the Schengen area in either direction. For this reason, Hungary considered the past weeks as a “test ride”, Kontrat said, adding that the EU should stop “pestering” EU citizens and concentrate on stopping and controlling illegal migrants and investigating terrorists.

Passed in early April, the regulation allows member states to suspend systematic control if risk analysis proves the suspension will pose no security risk.